Packet reservoir

In a conveying system for conveying articles of the tobacco industry including a delivery station, a receiving station, and conveyor means for moving such articles in line on a path between said stations, an article reservoir arranged adjacent said path to provide a temporary buffer store for said articles on said path, said reservoir including support means having a plurality of substantially-vertically disposed portions for supporting said articles, reversible conveying means for progressively and reversibly moving said support means between a position at which said support means is compactly stored with adjacent portions closely spaced and a position at which said portions are spaced apart by a distance sufficient to receive and store said articles between them, means for selectively transferring articles from said path onto said support means, and means for returning articles from said support means onto said path, said transferring means and said returning means being positioned adjacent said path for operating on successive portions of said support means as they are moved past said position.